Gun rights advocates say they were disappointed in the decision Monday by U.S. District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal.

But former GeorgiaCarry.org president Ed Stone, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said "we're in it for the long haul. Just because this motion lost, it doesn't tell us anything about the eventual outcome of the case."

The lawsuit was filed in early July by Stone's groups and a middle Georgia minister.

It came shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that residents have a right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they live. The ruling also gave state and local governments discretion over regulating where weapons can be carried outside the home.